A couple of weeks ago, I ragged on IGN because they had an astonishingly bad review of Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009. It looks like this viewpoint was not only shared by fans of the game, but by the wider IGN editorial staff as well.
The link to the original review has been replaced by an apology from the IGN staff and a new review has been posted.
Although the new review only gave a score of 7.9 - the review itself is much fairer (at least they are no longer comparing it to Fifa...). The criticisms levelled against the game are all valid criticisms and you can easily understand why the game was docked review points for those issues.
Unfortunately, as the original review was removed, the astonishingly bad review can no longer be viewed there. Luckily for us, Yahoo Games hasn't purged its review coffer yet! For posterity (and a good laugh), full text of the IGN review is copied here:
*********************************************
This game gets a red card, and possibly a lifetime ban.
By: Avi Burk
What sports fan doesn't want to take control of his favorite team and guide it to a championship, or, better yet, a long string of championships? Well, if it means playing Worldwide Soccer Manager, you can count me in that number.
Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 gives gamers the chance to manage and coach 5,000 soccer teams from 50 countries around the globe, giving them the chance to manage every aspect of their team's roster, field questions from reporters at their team's press conferences, and coach their teams in real time as each simulated game unfolds. What it doesn't do, more importantly, is provide any compelling reason to keep "playing."
Although the game's database of more than 350,000 real-life soccer players is certainly impressive, only the most diehard fans of the sport would be able to appreciate having such a massive pool of talent to sift through, and the casual fan would almost certainly find the task overwhelming – I did.
The game's incredibly complex menu system is very difficult to navigate, even with the on-screen help box directing you through the process. In short, this game is extremely difficult to simply pick up and play. If you're unfamiliar with the franchise expect to spend a significant amount of time simply trying to figure out how to navigate the menus.
Worldwide Soccer Manager's presentation problems don't end there though, once you finally make it to your team's first game you'll find that the player renderings and animations are awful, and the stadiums you play in lack any kind of personality or detail. Each field is bordered by fences and what appear to be unfinished stands, which don't have any fans in them. And, when the ball is kicked off of the pitch, it passes smoothly through the surrounding fences, right through the stands, and disappears from view only to return to the field in the same fashion, appearing magically from the stands and passing through the fences (and goals) on its way back into play.
Then there's the sound, or lack thereof. There is no soundtrack that plays while you work in the game's menus, which you'll spend the vast majority of your time in this game doing. There is no audio narration to accompany your participation in press conferences, even though your options for how to respond to each question is incredibly limited. There is no audio commentary to accompany the action in the simulated game's you watch/coach. In fact, the only sound we found in the entire game was the tones of fans cheering as each simulated game played out – which only detracts from the game's feel of authenticity seeing as there are no fans rendered in the stands.
As far as traditional gameplay goes, there really isn't any in Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009. Apart from managing your roster and coaching your team, there really isn't anything to do at all. So, unless you really enjoy clicking on menu buttons, you'll find your interaction with this game extremely disappointing.
However, if you're a big footie fan and big fan of sports simulation, you'll be extremely impressed with the depth of Worldwide Soccer Manager, which allows you to control just about every facet of your team and draw from a player pool that is simply mindboggling.
Closing Comments
This game obviously aims to provide the deepest soccer simulation experience possible for the sport’s most passionate and informed fans, but it offers little to nothing that would appeal to a casual fan of the sport or to the average videogame enthusiast. The menus are complex and difficult to navigate, graphics are terrible, the sound is non-existent and there is no traditional gameplay to speak of. I couldn’t imagine why anybody would prefer Worldwide Soccer Manager to FIFA 09 or Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
FM2006 - season 2025/26
I've been spending a lot of time on FM06 lately (the missus has been hogging the TV so I can't get any X360 time in).
Liverpool
I've just completed season 2025/26 and, as usual, won the Premier League and the Champions Cup. However, unlike prior years, the season was a little hit and miss. Over the last couple of years, my priority has been to bump up my club's bank balance and develop young talent at the club. Although I've succeeded, the cost has been that my squad hasn't been as strong as it could have been - and this really showed in a couple of matches. The biggest statistical indicator of my difficulty has been the fact that I only scored 70+ goals in the premier league this season (I normally score over 100).
The upside is that I had tons of money in the bank. Seeing as the squad was weak, I decided to spend all my money!
Over the course of the summer, I spent GBP97 million in buying new players (not all of it planned). Before your eyes fall too far out of your head, I should mention that the 97m is a result of 2 years transfer budget.
In the second half of the 2025/26 season, I signed Marcio, a Brazilian DM in the center of the park (Van der Linden was getting old), on a free transfer. I also bought Danielle Galli (AM RLC) for GBP12 million and Carlos Sanchez (ST) for GBP45 million. This was initially going to be enough but during the summer, Dave Roberts (my superstar GK) decided he wanted a new challenge and requested a transfer. This really left me in a pinch and I had to spend GBP40million buying another GK.
The end result is that I've probably got the strongest squad I've had in a long long time.
Italy
Unfortunately, I didn't do so well with Italy. After winning Euro 2024 with Italy, I had high hopes for the 2026 World Cup. Unfortunately, I didn't count on my top ST retiring.
Although I qualified for the World Cup with ease, I struggled in the early stages and didn't qualify for the knockout stages till the final group game. Two games later and I came across England who promptly knocked me out. The only consolation is that England went on to win the World Cup (and have done so 3 times in a row now!).
Part of the problem was that all of my players were unfit (with the exception of the 3 players who played in the premiership). After such a poor showing, and coupled with the frustration of unfit players, I decided to bring my international career to an end and quit the Italy post.
The Italian FA begged me to stay (I had been there 6 years and won Euro 2024 along with some minor cups) but I held firm and rejected them along with all the other International job offers )got offers from Germany, France and Spain). At this moment, the only way I will reenter the International job market is if England become available.
Liverpool
I've just completed season 2025/26 and, as usual, won the Premier League and the Champions Cup. However, unlike prior years, the season was a little hit and miss. Over the last couple of years, my priority has been to bump up my club's bank balance and develop young talent at the club. Although I've succeeded, the cost has been that my squad hasn't been as strong as it could have been - and this really showed in a couple of matches. The biggest statistical indicator of my difficulty has been the fact that I only scored 70+ goals in the premier league this season (I normally score over 100).
The upside is that I had tons of money in the bank. Seeing as the squad was weak, I decided to spend all my money!
Over the course of the summer, I spent GBP97 million in buying new players (not all of it planned). Before your eyes fall too far out of your head, I should mention that the 97m is a result of 2 years transfer budget.
In the second half of the 2025/26 season, I signed Marcio, a Brazilian DM in the center of the park (Van der Linden was getting old), on a free transfer. I also bought Danielle Galli (AM RLC) for GBP12 million and Carlos Sanchez (ST) for GBP45 million. This was initially going to be enough but during the summer, Dave Roberts (my superstar GK) decided he wanted a new challenge and requested a transfer. This really left me in a pinch and I had to spend GBP40million buying another GK.
The end result is that I've probably got the strongest squad I've had in a long long time.
Italy
Unfortunately, I didn't do so well with Italy. After winning Euro 2024 with Italy, I had high hopes for the 2026 World Cup. Unfortunately, I didn't count on my top ST retiring.
Although I qualified for the World Cup with ease, I struggled in the early stages and didn't qualify for the knockout stages till the final group game. Two games later and I came across England who promptly knocked me out. The only consolation is that England went on to win the World Cup (and have done so 3 times in a row now!).
Part of the problem was that all of my players were unfit (with the exception of the 3 players who played in the premiership). After such a poor showing, and coupled with the frustration of unfit players, I decided to bring my international career to an end and quit the Italy post.
The Italian FA begged me to stay (I had been there 6 years and won Euro 2024 along with some minor cups) but I held firm and rejected them along with all the other International job offers )got offers from Germany, France and Spain). At this moment, the only way I will reenter the International job market is if England become available.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
When reviews get it wrong
I don't talk about bad game reviews very often. Lets face it, in most cases, it is almost impossible to say that a review is bad. After all, whether you like a game or not can often come down to personal preferences.
However, every once in a while, you see a review that you can actually objectively call bad, by any definition of the word. And I recently came across such a review for Football Manager 2009. Or rather, Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 as the review was from an american.
First up, in the interest of being upfront - I should say that I am a fan of the Football Manager franchise from SI games. Secondly, I have never played FM2009 (in fact, I'm still playing FM2006!). Despite this, from reading the criticisms leveled against FM09, it is clear that this is a bad review.
Too many players
You know you are in for a bad review when the first criticism against the game is that the game has over 350,000 real life players. Apparently, the reviewer found the task of finding new talent to be overwhelming. WTF?!?!?!
At this point, I already know the reviewer has never played a modern football management sim before. You aren't supposed to trawl through 350,000 players - what do you think your scouts are for?
No fans
Another of his complaints is that the graphics engine doesn't show any fans. I can actually sympathise with this complaint. After all, how am I going to simulate being banned to the stand (or a karate kick on the fans) amidst all the plebs if the plebby fans aren't actually present? Shocking, I know. Clearly, SI Games have no concept of what wannabe football managers are actually looking for.
Actually, to be fair, this is part of his broader complaint against the graphics of the game. And again, to be fair, the graphics in the FM franchise have always been either poor or non-existent. The sad thing is that the reviewer has completely missed the reality that when you are trying to simulate the life of a football manager, graphics really aren't the priority.
No sound
The reviewer also complains that the only sound available is the sound of fans on matchday (which the reviewer apparently finds very strange as there aren't actually any fans watching based on his observation that he doesn't see any fans being rendered by the game engine). I'm guessing the reviewer was disappointed by the lack of licensed music in the games menu's.
Gameplay
The reviewer also finds traditional gameplay to be non-existent as all you do is click on menu buttons. I'm guessing he was disappointed that he didn't get to control each player and pass the ball around before scoring - In fact, the reviewer goes on to say "I couldn’t imagine why anybody would prefer Worldwide Soccer Manager to FIFA 09 or Pro Evolution Soccer 2009"....
Valid comment
The reviewer mentions that the game isn't targeted at casual fans and that if you have never played a game in the FM franchise before, you will have a steep learning curve to struggle through. And for once, the reviewer is right.
SI Games are striving to create the most accurate simulation of a football manager possible in a computer game. The downside to their success in meeting their vision is that the game does become incredibly difficult for casual gamers to enjoy. There is no easy difficulty. There are no handicaps or options that you can tick to make it easier. There is only the reality that if you buy this game, you are buying the most detailed and accurate simulation of being a football manager available today.
Summary
Despite the bad review, I really don't blame the reviewer as the fault (in my opinion) clearly lies with IGN. This reviewer should never have been given this game to review.
It is painfully clear that the reviewer has never played a football management sim before in his life. Not only that, but the reviewer was clearly expecting something similar to your normal footy action game (it was literally painful to hear him compare the game to FIFA09 and PES). The sad thing is that he compared it to action games instead of to other football management simulations. If he was expecting an action game, then no wonder he didn't "get it" and hated the game.
I really don't mind that he didn't like the game. The FM franchise has always been niche and targeted at hardcore football fans (which is why the IGN UK review score for FM09 is so high while the IGN US review score is so low - lets face it, most americans aren't exactly football fans, never mind hardcore football fans) and there are several other options for people who aren't so hardcore. However, IGN really need to sort themselves out - the review is frankly embarrassing coming from a large organisation like them.
However, every once in a while, you see a review that you can actually objectively call bad, by any definition of the word. And I recently came across such a review for Football Manager 2009. Or rather, Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009 as the review was from an american.
First up, in the interest of being upfront - I should say that I am a fan of the Football Manager franchise from SI games. Secondly, I have never played FM2009 (in fact, I'm still playing FM2006!). Despite this, from reading the criticisms leveled against FM09, it is clear that this is a bad review.
Too many players
You know you are in for a bad review when the first criticism against the game is that the game has over 350,000 real life players. Apparently, the reviewer found the task of finding new talent to be overwhelming. WTF?!?!?!
At this point, I already know the reviewer has never played a modern football management sim before. You aren't supposed to trawl through 350,000 players - what do you think your scouts are for?
No fans
Another of his complaints is that the graphics engine doesn't show any fans. I can actually sympathise with this complaint. After all, how am I going to simulate being banned to the stand (or a karate kick on the fans) amidst all the plebs if the plebby fans aren't actually present? Shocking, I know. Clearly, SI Games have no concept of what wannabe football managers are actually looking for.
Actually, to be fair, this is part of his broader complaint against the graphics of the game. And again, to be fair, the graphics in the FM franchise have always been either poor or non-existent. The sad thing is that the reviewer has completely missed the reality that when you are trying to simulate the life of a football manager, graphics really aren't the priority.
No sound
The reviewer also complains that the only sound available is the sound of fans on matchday (which the reviewer apparently finds very strange as there aren't actually any fans watching based on his observation that he doesn't see any fans being rendered by the game engine). I'm guessing the reviewer was disappointed by the lack of licensed music in the games menu's.
Gameplay
The reviewer also finds traditional gameplay to be non-existent as all you do is click on menu buttons. I'm guessing he was disappointed that he didn't get to control each player and pass the ball around before scoring - In fact, the reviewer goes on to say "I couldn’t imagine why anybody would prefer Worldwide Soccer Manager to FIFA 09 or Pro Evolution Soccer 2009"....
Valid comment
The reviewer mentions that the game isn't targeted at casual fans and that if you have never played a game in the FM franchise before, you will have a steep learning curve to struggle through. And for once, the reviewer is right.
SI Games are striving to create the most accurate simulation of a football manager possible in a computer game. The downside to their success in meeting their vision is that the game does become incredibly difficult for casual gamers to enjoy. There is no easy difficulty. There are no handicaps or options that you can tick to make it easier. There is only the reality that if you buy this game, you are buying the most detailed and accurate simulation of being a football manager available today.
Summary
Despite the bad review, I really don't blame the reviewer as the fault (in my opinion) clearly lies with IGN. This reviewer should never have been given this game to review.
It is painfully clear that the reviewer has never played a football management sim before in his life. Not only that, but the reviewer was clearly expecting something similar to your normal footy action game (it was literally painful to hear him compare the game to FIFA09 and PES). The sad thing is that he compared it to action games instead of to other football management simulations. If he was expecting an action game, then no wonder he didn't "get it" and hated the game.
I really don't mind that he didn't like the game. The FM franchise has always been niche and targeted at hardcore football fans (which is why the IGN UK review score for FM09 is so high while the IGN US review score is so low - lets face it, most americans aren't exactly football fans, never mind hardcore football fans) and there are several other options for people who aren't so hardcore. However, IGN really need to sort themselves out - the review is frankly embarrassing coming from a large organisation like them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)